and you will see then, I never stopped thinking about you.
Tom x
It was dark outside the bridal shop when Camille rushed up the stairs like a bat out of hell and found me in a crumpled mess on the sofa.
‘Seraph! I thought something terrible had happened to you when you said come quickly! Where’s the fire?’
I struggled to get my words out, ‘Look. At. This. Stuff .’
Camille seated herself and saw the wedding photo first.
‘ Mon dieu, mon dieu! Look at her. Wasn’t she beautiful?’
‘I know,’ I spluttered.
I felt like a god, damn, wreck, sniveling over some old photos. Truth was, Eve had known real love. That was clear, to me, from having read the letter. I felt thankful for that. At least she died having known love.
I was left with so many questions.
‘My dear, I thought you were tougher than this.’
‘I thought so too, but look how beautiful she was. Look how happy they were. I just don’t understand why she didn’t tell me about him!’
Camille took my hand and looked over some of the other things in the folder, realizing there was little else of note.
‘Come here,’ Camille pulled me into her arms and we rested back against the sofa .
‘What I can’t ge t over is that she wasn’t the person I thought she was. I always used to view her as this untouchable being – the one person out there in the world untarnished by desire, or greed, or want. For me, that kept me going. I aspired to be like her and knew that even if I was just a little bit like her, I would be okay.’
‘She was real, Seraph, just like you or I. We look to our elders for support and succor, but at the end of the day, we’re all just human. We all have foibles, issues, troubles, pasts and quirks of our own.’
‘I thought I was stronger t han this but I’m a total fuckin’ mess. What’s wrong with me?’
‘You’ve just had your heart broken, my love,’ she chided me.
I might have spiraled into another round of crying, so I attempted to walk off my pain, pacing the creaky floorboards.
‘Do you know what happened to Tom?’
I gazed down on her but judged she wasn’t reacting at all. That spelled it out for me – Camille was the bearer of my aunt’s secrets and had been instructed in their safekeeping. I doubted she would give them up, for neither love nor money.
‘I never even knew his name until I saw this. By the way, where did you find it?’ she asked, her hands clasped together on her lap.
‘Underneath the floorboards as I came down from the loft.’
‘I never used to like going up in that loft for her, it always gave me the creeps. Was there nothing of interest up there?’
‘Not much. A photo. Then this stuff under the floor.’
‘Hmm,’ Camille mustered contemplatively, biting her lip.
It didn’t seem right to press her. She was grieving too, clearly. I would find out the truth for myself, I decided.
Eve’s life was proving to be just another unsolved case to add to the pile… yet, I still felt that my trip was fated.
‘She was s o passionate, wasn’t she? I just can’t comprehend any of that. It’s not her at all, not the Eve I knew.’
‘It’s incredible, but I believe it.’
Oh, I bet …
I knew Camille would give up nothing without a fight and she was more than my equal, so instead I let my mind wander.
‘Eve never spoke of her childhood. In fact I pressed her on it occasionally, you know, if conversation dried up and my mind turned to trying to figure her out. I always sensed it was a no-go. Like, she may have had a hard life at some point, though she tried not to show it. There are still so many gaps in the story,’ I surmised wearily.
Camille took a few moments for contemplation and decided, ‘For now Seraph, you should feel very lucky. She was an immense spirit, and you should feel extremely grateful to have been so close to her, to have known her even. We both know there are terrible things to come, if we are ever to right a few wrongs in this
Tom x
It was dark outside the bridal shop when Camille rushed up the stairs like a bat out of hell and found me in a crumpled mess on the sofa.
‘Seraph! I thought something terrible had happened to you when you said come quickly! Where’s the fire?’
I struggled to get my words out, ‘Look. At. This. Stuff .’
Camille seated herself and saw the wedding photo first.
‘ Mon dieu, mon dieu! Look at her. Wasn’t she beautiful?’
‘I know,’ I spluttered.
I felt like a god, damn, wreck, sniveling over some old photos. Truth was, Eve had known real love. That was clear, to me, from having read the letter. I felt thankful for that. At least she died having known love.
I was left with so many questions.
‘My dear, I thought you were tougher than this.’
‘I thought so too, but look how beautiful she was. Look how happy they were. I just don’t understand why she didn’t tell me about him!’
Camille took my hand and looked over some of the other things in the folder, realizing there was little else of note.
‘Come here,’ Camille pulled me into her arms and we rested back against the sofa .
‘What I can’t ge t over is that she wasn’t the person I thought she was. I always used to view her as this untouchable being – the one person out there in the world untarnished by desire, or greed, or want. For me, that kept me going. I aspired to be like her and knew that even if I was just a little bit like her, I would be okay.’
‘She was real, Seraph, just like you or I. We look to our elders for support and succor, but at the end of the day, we’re all just human. We all have foibles, issues, troubles, pasts and quirks of our own.’
‘I thought I was stronger t han this but I’m a total fuckin’ mess. What’s wrong with me?’
‘You’ve just had your heart broken, my love,’ she chided me.
I might have spiraled into another round of crying, so I attempted to walk off my pain, pacing the creaky floorboards.
‘Do you know what happened to Tom?’
I gazed down on her but judged she wasn’t reacting at all. That spelled it out for me – Camille was the bearer of my aunt’s secrets and had been instructed in their safekeeping. I doubted she would give them up, for neither love nor money.
‘I never even knew his name until I saw this. By the way, where did you find it?’ she asked, her hands clasped together on her lap.
‘Underneath the floorboards as I came down from the loft.’
‘I never used to like going up in that loft for her, it always gave me the creeps. Was there nothing of interest up there?’
‘Not much. A photo. Then this stuff under the floor.’
‘Hmm,’ Camille mustered contemplatively, biting her lip.
It didn’t seem right to press her. She was grieving too, clearly. I would find out the truth for myself, I decided.
Eve’s life was proving to be just another unsolved case to add to the pile… yet, I still felt that my trip was fated.
‘She was s o passionate, wasn’t she? I just can’t comprehend any of that. It’s not her at all, not the Eve I knew.’
‘It’s incredible, but I believe it.’
Oh, I bet …
I knew Camille would give up nothing without a fight and she was more than my equal, so instead I let my mind wander.
‘Eve never spoke of her childhood. In fact I pressed her on it occasionally, you know, if conversation dried up and my mind turned to trying to figure her out. I always sensed it was a no-go. Like, she may have had a hard life at some point, though she tried not to show it. There are still so many gaps in the story,’ I surmised wearily.
Camille took a few moments for contemplation and decided, ‘For now Seraph, you should feel very lucky. She was an immense spirit, and you should feel extremely grateful to have been so close to her, to have known her even. We both know there are terrible things to come, if we are ever to right a few wrongs in this
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